Insight on Carp

[MCTFisher9120]

Hey, not new to Carp fishing but I just have some questions about them. First off are Carp a invasive species? About when did Carp start to get into our lakes and rivers. What harm can Carp do to the fishery and what good can they do. There seemes to be thousands if not millions if these big fish every year and not many people seem to be out keeping them or killing them. There are no regulations about them that I know of. If these fish are indeed dangerous to our fishery then why can't we have a day where people all over go out fishing for them and kill them kind of like a hunt to control population. They just seem to make the water awfully dirty and these fish are just everywhere to be found.

 

Just looking on some info about these fish, not trying to offend and avid Carp anglers out there, just trying to get some info about this species.

 

 

Thanks a lot,

MTBF

Edited May 12, 2009 by Mike The Bass Fisher

[Victor]

You will get a mix of different opinion on this, there are people who absolutely hate carp, thinks that they're trash and will just throw them onto the bank and let them rot, and there would be others who loves them. I try not to be biased when I answer your questions.

 

Is carp an invasive specie? Carp is not native to North America, it was introduced sometime in the 1800s for the main purpose of food, since they grow big and they grow fast, plus they can survive in adverse water conditions. So to sum it up, it is not native, but it has been here for over 100 years now, and it seems to be getting along just fine with all our other species. Besides, I think Common Carp is NOT listed as an invasive specie on the MNR.

 

Are they dangerous to our fishery? All of which I have referred to above is Common Carp, however, asian carp is a different story, they ARE dangerous to the fishery and we have to avoid them getting into our waters at any cost. Alot of people get these mixed up so they just think that carp are invasive.

[MJL]

The common carp can be invasive – Whether or not they are DESTRUCTIVE is debatable…Stick a highly adaptable, hardy fish into a new body of water with little competition and presto, you’ve got something that can thrive in a watershed. Same goes for smallmouth bass, rock bass, northern pike, bullheads, pacific salmon and other non-native salmonoids like brown and rainbow trout – Stick them into areas where they shouldn’t be and they can out-compete the native fish. Because something is native to Canada (or Ontario for that matter) doesn’t make them indigenous to the body of water they were stocked in.

 

“They just seem to make the water awfully dirty and these fish are just everywhere to be found.”

 

This is the basic argument against carp. Carp root around the bottom for food, stir things up and this sediment blocks light from reaching aquatic plants – Hence they die. Can’t say I agree with this. When I see carp feeding, I might see a few clouds of mud being stirred up from the bottom but as far as muddying up an entire lake…I don’t think so.

 

Some basic thoughts:

- Dirty water can be a result of (in no particular order): Algae blooms in lakes (most probable cause in summer), storm run-off, high winds, damming of rivers to form reservoirs (where else does the sediment from run-off go after a storm?), human created (as in the case of soil erosion caused by wakes from high-speed boating) or simply the nature of the substrate that surrounds the rivers or lakes you fish (for example if it is mud or clay based)…They don’t call it Dirty Duffins because of carp.LOL

 

- If you enjoyed fishing for other species within the time between now and the late 1800’s (when carp were first introduced), most likely a decline in the quality of fishing can be attributed to something other than carp – For example: Climate change, degradation of aquatic habitat from urbanization and development, damming of rivers, introduction of other foreign invaders (predators, competitors and disease), over harvest of native gamefish, stocking of ‘native’ gamefish not indigenous to that particular river, lake or stream, etc.

 

- We have world class fishing for carp in the same areas that have world class fishing for bass, pike, muskies and other species of fish. The St. Lawrence is probably the carp fishing capital of the world but it also has world class musky fishing too. I also don’t hear many people complaining about the musky, steelhead, lake trout, brown trout and bass fishing around the Niagara yet it’s teaming with carp. I wouldn't be surprised if many species of fish used juvenile carp as a food source.

 

- Having stained dirty water isn’t such a bad thing…Apparently the Bay of Quinte was a lot murkier than it is today and the walleye fishing was a lot better before the introduction of zebra mussels…A lot of waters around Ontario were a lot more coloured than they are today. When I fish for carp in the Kawarthas, I can see 15ft down to the bottom.

 

- Not sure when you started fishing for carp but there were a heck of a lot more (and bigger too) 15-20yrs ago.

 

Back in the early 90’s several programs were used to try to eradicate carp around the GTA. Long corridor type trap nets were used to catch them - The ones that were caught were killed. This did little to the population.

 

Carp are here to stay. I fish for carp because they’re widely available and they grow bigger than just about any other species we have available in Ontario. Are they destructive? In my eyes they do far less harm than what WE have done (and still currently do) to our lakes, rivers and streams by urbanizing and developing the surrounding environment.

[MCTFisher9120]

Thanks for the info MJL and Victor, got a much better understanding of Carp now,

 

MTBF

[Photoz]

This might help dispell a few of the myths you may have heard too? http://www.carpanglersgroup.com/northameri...arphistory.html

[muskeybugged]

"In my eyes they do far less harm than what WE have done (and still currently do) to our lakes, rivers and streams by urbanizing and developing the surrounding environment."

 

Well put MJL & Victor

 

"I wouldn't be surprised if many species of fish use juvenile carp as a food source."

 

I wonder if any taxidermist document what fish have been feeding on.... the ones that still do the ol' school mounts.

[fishermccann]

If you are not going to eat your fish, as in , Catch and Release, then why not go after the big tough fish?